25 Words for Tendershipping
by TheCartoonusMaximus
Summary: Random word shorts based on the pairing Ryou and Bakura. Fluff without a plot.


**11/30/2016 – 12/2/2016**

 **I haven't been feeling well for the past several days, so I've been playing around with these types of short pieces to distract myself. Each piece is the first scenario that came to my mind after reading the word, and the words all come from a random work generator I found online.**

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1\. "Illusion"

Ryou could never be quite sure how much of Bakura's words and actions were the truth and how many were lies. But, the way his dark side would sometimes lay in bed with him or press a kiss to his forehead... _That_ had to be real.

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2\. "Charm"

"Bakura!"

The Spirit of the Ring glanced over to the kitchen where Ryou was standing, arms akimbo, glowering at him. He feigned an innocent smile. "Yes, landlord?"

"What is this?" The boy held up a container of soup, a golden orb bobbing in the murky liquid.

"... Soup?"

Ryou was unamused. "Is this the Millennium Eye?!"

"... Maybe?"

Ryou glared down at the container in his hand for a moment before looking back up. When he spoke, his voice was flat and dry, as if nothing would surprise him ever again. "You're terrible."

For some reason, that made Bakura smile. "Just part of my charm, landlord. Part of my charm."

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3\. "Loss"

Nothing hurt worse than losing the other half of your soul and then being expected to go about your normal life. How do you 'go back to your normal life' when the last several years of your life have revolved around a part of you who has just been taken from you?

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4\. "Week"

Yugi and the others were gone, busy with a tournament in America or something. And without the Pharaoh around to distract him, Ryou had an easy time of getting Bakura's attention all to himself.

Too bad the tournament couldn't last any longer.

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5\. "Groan"

"Hey, landlord!" Bakura had a habit of interrupting Ryou's thoughts when he was doing his homework. "What did the ghost say to his smiling friend?"

"Not now, Bakura..."

"'Boy, you sure seem in _high spirits_ today!'"

Ryou lay his head on his desk, trying to hide his laughter.

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6\. "Ghost"

It was the faintest sound that came from the fire escape that night, but it was enough to send Ryou over to the window with his trusty baseball bat, checking to be sure no burglar would break into his apartment. It would be such an inconvenience for both himself and the burglar, to be honest.

But, to his surprise, he felt like he knew this particular burglar.

Out on the metal steps outside of his window sat a man, probably a few inches shorter than himself, with instantly recognizable white hair that stood up like horns.

"Why, whatever is the matter, landlord?" Came that teasing tone of voice Ryou hadn't heard in years. "You look like you've seen a ghost!"

If Ryou hadn't been so shellshocked, he would have slapped Bakura right off the fire escape just for making that godawful joke.

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7\. "Spite"

It was nothing more than the feelings of bitterness and centuries-old anger that kept Bakura going. He was afraid to get too close to Ryou – if he came to care for the boy, he risked losing all of the anger and determination that kept him alive.

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8\. "Cold"

Ryou's apartment was warm. Ryou's bed was warm. And nothing was quite as warm as Ryou himself.

The thought made Bakura smile as he pressed against the boy late at night. This was a much better way to spend the night than at the mercy of the frigid winds of the cold, unforgiving desert.

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9\. "Mood"

Ryou was baffled by how quickly the Spirit's mood could change. One second, he'd be talking about cutting the Pharaoh's throat open and offering his mutilated body to the gods, and the next he'd be cracking puns about fish.

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10\. "Education"

Learning to speak English was bizarre. Especially when Bakura started listening to American songs after learning what some of the lyrics meant.

"We don't need no – edu-cation..."

Ryou frowned at him. "Obviously, you do, Mr. Double Negative."

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11\. "Hair"

Bakura was so very proud of his light hair during his lifetime. It was a symbol of his birth and the tribe he belonged to.

But, given how eager he was to defend it, Ryou wasn't completely certain that the Spirit wasn't more proud of Ryou's glistening white tresses.

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12\. "Discount"

"But, landlord, I thought you loved getting food for less money."

"There's a difference between using a coupon and outright stealing, Bakura!"

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13\. "Evening"

Other couples spent the evening cuddling together on the couch in front of the television. But not Ryou and Bakura. No, they had to stay up late designing strategies for conquests in an RPG plot.

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14\. "Hear"

The first time Bakura had heard Ryou's voice, the boy had been eight-years-old. The boy's voice was soft and low, a plea for friends barely heard over his quiet sniffling.

It would be eight more years before Ryou heard Bakura's voice for the first time, his ears filled with wicked cackling, his own voice rising in terrified screams to meet the sounds.

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15\. "Lip"

The first time they had kissed one another, it had been uncomfortable for both of them. Bakura was too hard, too fast, too rough, and Ryou was too wet and stiff.

They got better over time, thank the gods, and they both agreed to never speak of that first try again.

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16\. "Liability"

Bakura looked down at Ryou as the boy lay beneath him, feeling conflicted. Zorc and the thief, the two voices who lived in his head, insisted on telling him as often as possible how much of a liability it was to his purpose for him to become attached to his host. He had to kill the Pharaoh and plunge the world into an eternal darkness for Zorc to rule. That was his only purpose for existing, and becoming invested in another being, even if he _was_ the thief's descendant and reincarnation, would only weaken his resolve.

But, like many young offspring getting their first start in the world, Bakura chose to ignore the advice of his 'parents.' There would be plenty of time to kill the Pharaoh later. Ryou was here and warm, and his voice was much more pleasant to listen to.

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17\. "Terms"

"You'd be a perfect lover," Bakura remarked offhand one day.

Ryou paused, blinking in bewilderment. "Is that a proposal?"

"Depends." The spirit shrugged. "Whatever you want to think."

The two fell back into silence, continuing their work on the diorama of Egypt. It would be awhile before it was finished, but, once it was complete, the Pharaoh would have to play through the game all the way until the end. And if he didn't, then they would resurrect Zorc and plunge the world into despair.

Bakura was surprised when Ryou spoke again after a long stretch of not talking.

"Well..." the boy began, tilting his head up to look at the hovering spirit. "If you want to be my boyfriend, you'll have to gain your own body in some way. And you can't allow Zorc to come back – if he comes back, you'll die."

He turned back to the doll he was fashioning, painting little black dots on its face to represent eyes. "I want a boyfriend who's alive."

A low laugh escaped from Bakura's ghostly lips. "Are those your terms, landlord?"

"Yes."

The spirit hummed, laying his head on top of Ryou's. "I'll think about it."

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18\. "Cream"

Ryou's eyes were brown, Bakura realized. Almost the color of that coffee he drank 'to wake himself up' in the morning, but not quite.

They were almost the color of coffee with cream in it, now that he thought about it.

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19\. "Toll"

Having to betray the only friends he'd managed to make was exhausting. Even as he added the finishing touches to the Memory World he'd created at the Spirit's request, Ryou wondered whether or not it was worth it.

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20\. "Rebel"

Ryou rebelled against the dark side, refusing to give in to the shadows of evil. No matter what the Spirit of the Ring said or did to the boy, the boy simply refused to give in, balking against the Spirit's orders.

All things considered, the Spirit wondered if it was Ryou's steadfast soul that he liked about the boy.

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21\. "Hand"

Ghost pains weren't any fun at all, and, unfortunately, Ryou had plenty to contend with. Today it was his hand, the scar stretching across his palm acting as a memento from the time when Bakura had stabbed his hand down on his Monster World castle spire.

"Ugh..." The young male rubbed at his hand absentmindedly.

Bakura looked up from the comic book he was reading, his eyes landing on where Ryou's fingers ran over his palm. "Hurts?"

"Yeah."

"... I'm sorry." Taking the younger male's hand in his own, Bakura began pressing gentle kisses along the palm, his tongue giving an extra swipe across the skin here and there. He was a long way from atonement, but baby steps were better than nothing.

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22\. "Fate"

"The seer says it was fate that brought me to you." He meant Ishizu.

A tilt of the head. A sideways look. "Do you agree with her?"

"Of course not. You and I both know it was your idiot father who brought me home to you."

Lips that slowly stretched into a smile, making him oh so kissable. "Maybe you're both right."

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23\. "Name"

"Why don't you have a name?"

It was an innocent question, and not an unreasonable one.

Still, the Spirit couldn't help but grin. "I thought my name was 'Bakura,' eh, landlord?"

"You can't just steal my name, even if you've already stolen my face and body!" The boy growled. "Now, answer the question already!"

The Spirit shrugged, rolling his shoulders easily. "I'm an inhuman product of Zorc the Dark One and a thief whose name was blotted out from history. I'm little more than a tool for them to use in bringing the world to their chosen end, so neither one saw it fit to ever give me a name. You don't name the spade you use to sow your crops."

The boy blinked. "That's kind of sad."

"If that's how you want to look at it."

Ryou bit his lip thoughtfully before voicing his new idea. "Would you... like to _share_ my name?"

Now he was puzzled. "Didn't you just say you didn't want me stealing your name?"

"You can't steal something that's been given to you."

The Spirit had to look away to hide the genuine smile that grew across his face.

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24\. "Keep"

Sometimes, Ryou would catch Bakura looking at him like he looked at a prized treasure to be pilfered and stored away in his treasure room, something to admire and hold all to himself.

Whenever he caught that look, Ryou became conflicted, feeling small because of how he was being objectified while also feeling on top of the world because Bakura never looked at anyone else that way.

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25\. "Cool"

'Cool' was the word Bakura might use to describe how Ryou's touch felt. Cool and smooth, like glass or water, but more solid, often gentle.

Ryou would have described Bakura's touch as somewhere between 'scorching heat' and 'like a branding iron.' Rough and fast and hot like the desert sands.

And therein lay the difference between them – sand and glass.

But, when exposed to pressure and extreme temperatures, sand can become glass, over time. And time was one of the few forces that seemed to work in Bakura's favor.

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End file.
